Illinois: Trial Lawyers Stymied as Spring Session Ends

With the Illinois Legislature's spring session adjournment two weeks ago, the threat of the notorious “trial lawyer windfall profits bill” ended temporarily. NAMIC actively opposed the last-minute amendment to SB 1911, which inflated plaintiffs’ pockets by awarding damages on what medical costs were billed instead the costs actually paid.

In April, NAMIC joined the coalition of businesses and insurers led by the Illinois Insurance Association in opposing SB 1911. Tami Stanton, NAMIC’s central region state affairs manager, wrote legislators that the “accompanying shock to the cost of insurance could be staggering” with the plaintiff and the plaintiff's attorney “receiving windfall awards at the expense of other policyholders.”

The bill, however, is not dead as the General Assembly will return in November for its veto session, and SB 1911 may well resurface based on the results of the fall general election. The election outcome of either the legislative or governor’s race may assure the passage of SB 1911 for the trial lawyers.

In other news from the State House, for property/casualty insurers, SB 2310 is a bill of note because it amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Businesses Practices Act to allow consumers to request security freezes on their credit reports without cause. Fortunately, insurance underwriting is specifically exempted for the provisions of the legislation.

Direct questions to NAMIC State Affairs Manager Tami Stanton.

Posted: Monday, May 22, 2006 12:00:00 AM. Modified: Monday, May 22, 2006 10:27:30 AM.

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We are 1,400 property/casualty insurance companies serving more than 135 million auto, home and business policyholders, with more than $196 billion in premiums accounting for 50 percent of the automobile/homeowners market and 31 percent of the business insurance market. We are the largest and most diverse property/casualty trade association in the country, with regional and local mutual insurance companies on main streets across America joining many of the country’s largest national insurers who also call NAMIC their home. More than 200,000 people are employed by NAMIC members.